False Red
by see-why-in-shadows-i-hide
Summary: "Green simply shrugged and stared at Red. He had a puzzled expression on his face. "I guess it must have slipped my mind. It doesn't matter anyways Gramps, since that is not Red." He walked closer to his neighbor, but stopped a good inch away. "You have his face...Why do you have the same face? Who ARE you?" " This oneshot is based on the hacked Pokemon FireRed game, False Red


**Author's Note: Hey everyone! So for the past three days i've been playing a Pokemon Firered hack that is called False Red. It is about a new trainer starting his or her journey and almost everyone tells the character/player that he/she is not him (Red). The gameplay plays normally the only change is the dialogue and that there is snow. So in my playthrough I decided to play as the boy protagonist and name him Red (Don't do it, it makes the game more heartbreaking) then the idea for this one shot came to me and I started to type it. I changed things up a little. Unlike the hack Team Rocket is no longer here since the real Red defeated them and False Red has red eyes like the original Red. Anyways I hope you guys enjoy. This is probably the longest piece of writing I have ever written in a short time.**

**EDIT 12/30/14: Fixed left out words, spelling errors, added a few things to some sections, and reworded parts of dialogue I thought did not make any sense. **

**Declaimer: I do not own Pokemon or False Red. **

**Rated T: For a certain Pokemon's death, blood and one curse word.**

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><p>The Kanto region was thrilled to see their former young champion had returned. Millions of people asked where Red had been for the past year, but the eleven year old had no answer. His Pokemon were gone, along with his memory from his journey. During the year Red was gone Green had taken up the role as champion again. For months Red stayed home with his mother. He did not understand how this could of happened. Why couldn't he remember anything? His best friend Green tried to jog his memory by telling him about their adventures, but nothing worked.<p>

"Hey loser, stop looking so glum." Said Green as he entered the brunette's room one day. The once again champion studied Red. He could not help but feel like something was off and it was not just because his rival had lost his memory, and his pokemon. No something was different. Green shook the strange feeling away and sat next to the unresponsive Red. "Didn't you hear me?"

"I heard you…." The boy mumbled. "But how can I not look so "glum"? I can't remember anything and for some reason I lost my Pokemon. What kind of trainer am I?" Red placed his head into his hands.

"You were a trainer who managed to beat me and become Pokemon Champion, and you will do it again." Green responded without missing a beat. Red looked up at the other brunette and opened his mouth, but before he could speak Green continued. "Meet me at Gramp's lab tomorrow. Its time for you to restart your Pokemon Journey." The spiky haired brunette pulled himself off his friend's bed and exited the room leaving Red alone with his thoughts.

Red woke up bright and early the next day and quickly got dressed. He ran down the stairs and approached his mother. "Bye Mom. I'm heading to Professor Oak's now."

The woman gave him a strange look. She spoke slowly. "Right...All boys leave home someday. Just like my son." She looked away from Red and had a faraway look in her eyes like she was remembering someone forgotten.

"Mom?" What did she mean when she said "just like her son". Red was her son.

…

No answer

"Mom?" Red tried again. When he still received no answer he added, "I'll be okay mom. I will call you when I get to Viridian City. I promise." Red decided his mother would be fine. He figured she was probably sad he was leaving, she would feel better later. He walked towards the door and grabbed the door knob, but despite what he just thought he could not help but take one last glance and saw his mother had still not snapped out of her trance. Something else also caught his eye. On the TV screen was a boy with black hair and red eyes he seemed to be peering at Red. The boy was standing on what appeared to be a mountain with a Pikachu on his shoulder and snow was surrounding them. He could not have been much older than either Red or Green. The brunette shook his head. What was he standing around here for? It was time to get going.

The eleven year old stepped outside and looked up. Snow? Wasn't it September? Palette town was not exactly cold this time of year. Once again the boy shook his head and stuffed his hands into his red jackets front pockets. Professor Oak and Green were waiting for him and he knew he should not keep the two waiting for too long.

"Good morning Red!" Oak's assistants greeted the boy as he walked in.

"Good morning." He responded back. Red walked to the back where he knew grandfather and grandson would be.

"Good morning Red. I won't go into my usual monologue since I know Green is just as antsy as you are to get his Pokemon." Oak explained to the former champion.

"But doesn't he already have one?" Red asked.

The Professor turned to his grandson. "I thought you told him, Green."

Green simply shrugged and stared at Red. He had a puzzled expression on his face. "I guess it must have slipped my mind. It doesn't matter anyways Gramps, since that is not Red." He walked closer to his neighbor, but stopped a good inch away. "You have his face...Why do you have the same face? Who ARE you?"

Red's gaze met Green's. His eyes widened and he took a step back.

Oak laughed. "I don't know where you get this stuff." The grey haired man said shaking his head. "Alright Red. You can have first pick."

The brunette stared at his rival for a little longer. He shifted uncomfortably. The other boy now wore an angry expression. His eyes were full of hate towards Red. The boy removed his gaze from the spiky haired brunette and walked over to the third pokemon ball. Green had to be messing with him. Red knew he always got a kick out of that, but deep down he knew something was horribly wrong.

"Ah. So you pick Charmander again." Oak replied when the lizard Pokemon popped out. "Would you like to give him a nickname?"

"No. I think i'm going to stick to Charmander. Nicknaming is not really my thing."

"Fine if "Red" picks Charmander, then I pick Squirtle!" Green stated. He walked up to the second Pokemon ball and released the turtle shelled Pokemon.

Oak shook his head "You haven't changed at all."

Red began to walk away. He figured the quicker he got out of there the better. He did not know what was going on, and he did not like it.

"Hold up Red. How about we battle? You may have almost everyone else fooled, but I know you're not him. Squirtle use tackle!" Green shouted.

Red turned around to see the water starter on his fire starter. "Charmander push Squirtle off and use scratch." His Pokemon did as it was told and once again Red met Green's eyes. "Green I don't know what kind of prank you are pulling, but I don't like it."

His Rival gave an uneasy chuckle and commanded his Pokemon to use another move. "Prank? I'm not pulling anything on you. As soon as you admit that you're not Red the sooner this will be over with."

The brunette frowned as he gave Charmander a command. "But I am Red!" He balled his fists as frustration started to set in. Why was Green doing this to him? First his mom was acting strange and now Green too? He could almost picture his mother and best friend giggling like five year olds as they came up with this prank.

The two rivals continued to battle and in the end Red came out victorious. "N-no this isn't right. You aren't Red. Red always wins this battle not you…" Green stated his face was now full of confusion and fear. He backed away from whoever this boy was who had the same face. Why was he the only one who saw that something was horribly wrong here? When he thought Red had come home he was overjoyed, but now he realized that this was an imposter. Green's expression quickly turned back to anger as he approached Red. "This is not your story. Go away! He will be coming back soon." Green continued to scrutinize the stranger before taking out 60 dollars and dropping it on the floor. He closed his green eyes and took a deep breath. "I need to fix this." When he reopened them they landed back on Red. "In the meantime get out of my world." The eleven year old turned around racing out of the lab.

Red stood in the same spot for a few minutes. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. "He isn't kidding…" The brunette mumbled quietly upon realization. Green was not pulling a prank he was fully serious, but Red knew that Green was wrong he was Red. There was no one else he could be. "Uh thanks for the Charmander, Professor. I'll see you around." The boy rushed out of the lab onto route one. He sped walk to the next town and approached one of the many signs. "I swear if this one also says "Come home" I will flip."

Viridian City

He got his final badge here….

The trainer backed away. That was much worse. He decided not to read anymore signs.

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><p>As Red continued his journey he realized it was not only Green who did not believe that Red was Red. Many other trainers did not either when they mentioned <em>him<em>. Some would mistake Red for _him_ and apologize. Some would insult Red and say it was his fault that _he_ was gone. Hell even his own mother wrote in a letter saying that if Red was to find him tell _him_ that she missed _him_. Still Red did not let this get to him. He would continue his Pokemon journey and if everyone was right and he was not Red and happened to find the other Red he would bring him home and tell everyone to shut up.

"Huh? You look so familiar." Misty told him.

Red took off his hat running his fingers through his brown hair. He let out a small chuckle. "Yeah. I get that a lot." The former champion had decided humor was the best way to handle this situation.

Red had left the gym after he won and headed towards the golden bridge only to be stopped by Green. He had not seen the other trainer since they got their pokedex. The boy frowned as he remembered Green saying he wanted his rival back. Well tough luck, right? Red was his rival and the quicker Green snapped out of whatever he was going through the better.

The other brunette held his usual scowl upon seeing the False Red. "Are you still here? Are you still playing? You're doing the same things he did. All of the same things." Green held up his fingers counting the same choices that False Red had made as his best friend. "The same places. The same Pokemon. The same badges. Need I go on? You aren't Red. This isn't your story. You're just a copy."

Red shook his head. "You are wrong Green. I am Red! You know me. We have been best friends since we were babies, rivals even. Why don't you believe me?"

The two ended up battling again and once again Red won. The former champion watched the champion walk away only for him to return seconds later. "He had one of these." Green said. He handed the stranger the Fame Checker and really studied the boy who was not his rival's face. "Now that I look at you, you don't look anything like him."

When Green left again a tear slid down Red's face. He quickly wiped it away. The boy could handle strangers saying he was not Red and have people downright insult him, but hearing it from his own best friend had hurt.

* * *

><p>Red stepped aboard the S.S. Anne and battled many trainers. One even wanted to be his friend but disregarded him seconds later saying he thought Red had been someone else.<em> "And by someone else he means him."<em> The eleven year old thought. He tried to stay positive. He really did, but having so many people come up to him and say he was not Red and even getting angry that he was replacing him was not easy for a kid. At this point Red just wanted to get off of the ship, but he knew his Pokemon needed some training and he would not neglect them because people were accusing him of not being "Red".

The brunette had heard the captain was sick and was going to go check on him only to run into Green. "Red! What are you doing here? Why won't you just quit? I told you this is Red's story, it was never meant for you!" The spiky haired boy reached into his Pokemon belt to pull out his first Pokemon.

Red shook his head as he followed the other trainer's lead. "You are insane Green-"

"No! I was insane for five months to believe that you were him! Why can't you just grasp that you are a fake? If anything you're the insane one here! You two don't even look alike. The only thing you have in common are your Pokemon and your red eyes, but besides that nothing! I want my friend back!" Green shouted. Pain filled his eyes. Green wanted to cry, but he would not shed any tears in front of an impostor. When the other boy first arrived at Palette Town Green had thought that he had his rival back, but he was a fool. How could he have been deceived by this trainer? Their personalities were all wrong. The real Red was level headed and always planned things out. While this Red was stubborn, hotheaded and often jumped into action.

Red swept the champions team with ease and Green stared at him horrified. "Oh god. What have you done?" He held the bloodied Raticate close to him. "You killed him!" The brunette ran past False Red.

The eleven year old held the same expression as his rival. He did not mean to do it. He would never hurt a Pokemon. Tears slipped down Red's face. "Green wait!" Maybe it was not too late, maybe the woman on the ship could heal the Raticate. The former champion ran around the ship looking for the other boy, but he could not find him anywhere. He ignored people's hateful looks as he visited the captain to get the HM Cut.

"It was an accident…" Red mumbled as he cast his head downwards. He walked away from the ship. No, he was not responsible for the Raticate's death.

* * *

><p>Flash Cave was a nightmare to get through. Red thought it was going to be easy since he had Flash, but he was wrong. The trainers were talking about<em> him<em> again. It was very unnerving. Red remembered having a conversation with one of the picnicker girls. She wanted to wait until Red returned to the cave so she could leave.

"But I am Red!" The brunette had argued. "You can go home now."

The black haired girl shook her head. "No you are not. The real Red would have a smile on his face, you are nothing but a phony." She turned away from him and Red resisted the urge to scream at her.

He continued on his way, growing more and more angry whenever they would talk about him. He was starting to believe that he was not Red. By the time Red got to Lavender Town he was relieved. He arrived to the Pokemon Center to heal his Pokemon. Normally the boy would use Super Potions, but some of his members had fainted and he had no revives.

"Please don't come back." Nurse Joy said after she handed Red back his Pokemon. The trainer flinched. Every Pokemon Center he had visited so far Nurse Joy told him to not come back. Why? Why were they so disrespectful towards him?

The brunette was about to leave when an old man grabbed his arm. The man made eye contact with him. "What he did was an accident. What you did was murder."

The old man did not have anytime to react before he had a fist in his face. "I am not a murderer! I never meant to kill Green's Raticate!" He was about to throw another punch when two other trainers grabbed him by the arms throwing him out.

The old man held his gushing nose. "He would of never resorted to physical violence."

Red sat on the ground. Since the moment he restarted his Pokemon journey everything had started to fall apart. The boy did not know how long he sat there thinking about everything people had told him. No one had recognized him as the real Red, except for Professor Oak and his aides, but everyone else either said nothing about him, or called Red a fake. The brunette turned his head and noticed Green walking into Pokemon Tower. Red knew what he had to do. He stood up dusting himself off and grabbed his fallen hat replacing it on his head and walked into the Pokemon Tower.

Red found Green on the second floor. His back was turned from him and he was standing in front of two graves. The spiky haired champion turned around when he heard footsteps."What are you doing here? Did you lose a Pokemon to?"

"No, I-"

"You're lucky then." Green looked sorrowfully at the graves then back at the imposter. "Anyways lets get this over with." He was about to release his first Pokemon until Red stopped him.

"Green, wait. Listen to me. You and almost everyone else are saying i'm not Red, and I believe you." The trainer looked at the champion. "I mean how can I not? If I was him everyone wouldn't be treating me this way. I don't know who I am, but I want to help you find the real Red so I can get answers." Not Red explained to the other boy.

The champion was shocked, but his face only held his usual scowl that he had become accustomed to using around the Fake Red. "Its about time you came to your senses." Green replied. He crossed his arms. "Alright lets head back to the Pokemon Center for the night and tomorrow we will look for him."

"I don't think thats a good idea. I kinda got into a fight with an old man." Said the boy. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

Green shook his head. "Just let me do the talking."

False Red let Green handle the situation and they were able to get a room. The room had two bunkbeds and a brown dresser, and there was another room which had a bathroom. Both boys did not say much to each other. Throughout their journey Green had spent it despising the faker and False Red had spent his in frustration. Not Red took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair as he sat down on the bunk bed. His head snapped up when he heard Green exited the bathroom.

Green said nothing to the trainer except raise an eyebrow. He thought his roomie would be asleep by now.

"I need a name." False Red simply said. It had been bothering him that he was using a name that did not belong to him...just like everything else. The woman that he had stayed with was not his real mother and his rival was not his real rival or friend. Even his running shoes did not belong to him, they had belonged to the Real Red. The boy sighed and laid down when he got no answer. He figured Green still wanted nothing to do with him.

"Fire."

"Huh?" The brunette rose back up.

"Your name is Fire. Fire is an element that can be very hotheaded. Just like you are." The Champion explained. "Now get some sleep. We leave early." Green flicked off the lights and got into the empty bunk bed. Soon both boys drifted off to sleep.

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><p>The search for Red was not easy. Fire and Green searched through many towns, but there were still no signs of him. The boys were currently in Fuchsia city. Green wandered around the Safari Zone since he knew Red spent a good week in the city looking for Pokemon there. While walking a scientist stopped him.<p>

"Why are you journeying with that _fake?_" He practically spat.

Green looked at the man and rolled his eyes. How many times did the boy have to clarify that Fire was different from Red? "He is his own person. So buzz off." He walked away not giving the man a chance to reply. After countless run ins between Fire and him, and after deciding to search for the real Red together the boy was now able to distinguish both Red and Fire as two separate people.

Fire walked aimlessly around town. He was watching a Lapras swim around when another boy approached him.

"Why are you pretending to be him?" The young boy asked.

Fire turned around to face him. "I'm not. I know i'm not Red."

"Then why did you say you originally were?" The boy glared at the trainer. "You can't even pull him off! You might have his eyes, but you don't have his black hair!"

Black hair?

Could it be?

Fire left the child with no response as he ran towards one of the houses.

"Whoa slow down son. He was never in a rush." An elderly woman said.

The trainer grit his teeth, but he ignored her as he turned on the TV. He did not have to flip through any channels to find what he was looking for. The screen showed a boy on the mountain, the same one Fire always saw on television screens since the day he started his Pokemon journey.

"Its Red….I can't believe it...All this time…"

For the first time Fire really took in the boy's appearance. Like the younger boy had said Red did have black hair and red eyes. He was wearing a red jacket that had white sleeves and a button to close it, underneath the jacket he had on a black shirt, with blue jeans. He wore a hat just like he did, but that was also different. Red's hat was white and red that had a leaf logo on it. Fire was snapped out of his examination when the old lady ordered him to leave.

The trainer stepped outside and actually laughed. Throughout his journey it had continued to snow. Weather reporters and scientists could not explain the bizarre behavior, but now Fire knew it was a hint to where Red was at.

"What are you laughing at?" Green asked with a raised eyebrow. He had not seen the brunette laugh since before they began their journey. "You're suppose to be finding him."

Fire turned towards the champion and said through his laughter. "I did."

Green scowled. "Well I don't see him with you."

The boy shook his head. "Do you remember when you called me insane when I pointed out the boy on the mountain that I saw on the TV screen?"

"That was because there was no boy on the TV screen. It was some news report." Green replied. He sighed and then asked, "What about it?"

"A younger boy approached me minutes earlier and told me what Red looks like. The description matches the boy on the TV screen. Red is on a mountain." Fire explained. He watched as Green's eyes widened.

"If that's the case, then I think I might know where he is!" Green pulled out a HM from his bag. "Give Charizard this. The search for Red ends today."

Fire took the HM and taught Fly to Charizard. The boy let the champion direct his starter Pokemon where to go. In a few hours they made it to . The two battled many trainers, and all they would say was "He's here."

Green laughed and spun around. "You were right Fire. When this is over you won't be known as a "Copy" anymore. You will be known as the boy who found Red."

Fire smiled. This was the happiest he had seen Green in ages, and soon enough people would stop comparing him to Red. The boy ran ahead of Green at the thought.

"Hey slow down! I want to find him first!" Green shouted running after him. Fire and the current champion raced around . They would laugh and joke around like they were actual friends. It took awhile, but when the duo found the exit Green stopped him. "Whoa, you can't go out there. You'll freeze to death." It was snowing heavily out and neither boys had heavy winter gear.

Fire looked at Red's rival. "Don't you want to find him? We have looked all over this place and we have not seen him. He has to be out there." He threw a grin. "I did not know that you actually cared Green. Besides I have Charizard with me. We should be fine." Fire released his starter from the Pokemon ball and started his ascent outside with Green following close behind him.

_"Man, I feel like i've been walking forever. How long is this trail?"_ Fire asked himself. He pulled his jacket closer to him and looked at Green. The other boy held a determined expression on his face and was doing his best to keep up with Fire and Charizard._ "We can't turn back now. Not when we are so close to finding him. I want answers. I want to know why every sign I read says "come home" or mentions Red. Or why people hate me for not being him. I also want to know why I have no family or why I do not have any memory before I arrived at Pallet town."_ As Fire continued to think the more angry he got. His very existence only had to do with Red. As far as he knew he had nothing. The trainer started to walk ahead of Green and his starter despite Green's protests for him to slow down. Fire could see the end of the trail. Most importantly he could see him.

"You're Red, right?" Fire asked approaching the boy. "I'm Fire from Pallet town." His scowl deepened when he received no answer. "What's the matter don't you talk?" He let out a growl. "Say something! Tell me why I thought I was you and why everyone says i'm not Red!" The boy yelled.

Red blinked. What did they do to him? The boy standing in front of him who claimed he was Red did not look like him at all. "I thought I instructed it to make you an exact copy…" Red whispered.

"What? What do you mean by copy?" The boy shouted. He was ready to punch Red's lights out and he was going to when he heard his rival speak.

"Red, I can't believe it. We really found you." Green exclaimed. He almost pushed Fire out of the way to get to him.

The real former champion looked at his best friend and held a small smile on his face. "Its great to see you Green."

"What have you been doing up here all this time?" The spiky haired brunette asked.

"Hold up. Red still needs to answer my questions!" False Red cut in.

Green studied his traveling partner and was taken aback. Just a little while ago the boy was happy, but now he was furious and _scared_ even. Green looked at his actual rival and noticed he had a guilty expression on his face. He took a step back deciding to give Fire and Red some space.

"Before I begin, you have to calm down." Red told the boy.

"Thats a good one! How can I calm down when you're telling me that i'm nothing but a copy? Do you know how traumatizing that is? First my mom who I guess is not really my mom says that i'm not her son and then the person who is suppose to be my best friend and my rival says that i'm not you! Oh and there are also people who are criticizing my every move saying that you would have not made those mistakes! So please, tell me, how am I suppose to "calm down"?" Fire breathed heavily after finishing his rant. His eyes never leaving Red's.

"You're right, i'm sorry-"

"Oh your sorry?" Fire asked beginning on another rant.

"Fire, if you want the truth you have to let me speak." Red stated calmly. The trainer glared at him, but said nothing waiting for the boy that caused him so much trouble to begin. "After defeating Team Rocket and becoming the Pokemon Champion, people expected so much from me. Some even went as far to call me a God. I could not handle the responsibility that was thrown on me and moved up here to be alone since I knew not many people knew of this area's existence, but then I got to thinking about my friends and family and realized that they missed me. So I prayed to Arceus the Pokemon that created everything and when he finally came I told it to make a clone of me so everyone could be happy, but I see it had other plans." Red's head tilted to the floor. He did not dare take in Green's or Fire's expression.

Fire was the first one to speak. "I, I can't believe it. You're nothing but a coward! Instead of facing your problems you asked Arceus to create a clone of you to get out of your problems! And then instead of punishing you it decides to punish me!" He charged at Red ready to throw a punch, but Green held him back.

"Fire, thats enough. What Red did was wrong and what Arceus did was even worse, but taking your anger out on Red is not going to solve anything." Green tried to calm the other trainer down.

"I'm really sorry, If I would have known I would of never told Arceus to create you." Red replied.

Green winced knowing that was the wrong thing for Red to say.

"So now you're calling my existence a mistake!" Fire glared at Red. He tried to break out of Green's grip, but he was not strong enough. The boy closed his eyes fighting back tears. "I'm going to prove myself to all of you." He muttered. Green had let him go when he felt him relax. Fire's eyes snapped open staring into Red's. "I will become the greatest Pokemon Trainer in the world and when I beat you Kanto won't even remember your name." False Red beckoned his Charizard over and climbed onto him. "Farewell Green." He broke contact with Red to wave at the champion who Fire almost considered a friend. "And Red," He looked back at the black haired boy. "You better pray that I change my mind."

The two remaining boys watched Fire fly away on his Charizard, neither making a move to stop him. Green cleared his throat and looked back at Red.

"I know. Its time for me to face my problems. When the time comes I will be ready to take on Fire and whoever wins, wins and whoever loses, loses." Red said not giving Green the chance to speak. He released his own Charizard and climbed onto him. Red extended his hand down helping his rival up. "Lets go home to Palette town."


End file.
